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MASTERS  IN  ART 


jFasteinjirt 

^•^triE&fflffllustratell-illpnojgraplis 


The  remaining  artists  to 

be  considered  during  the  current. 

1906,  Volume  are  Bouguereau,  Goya,  and  Francia.  1 he  numbers 

of  4 Masters  in  Art  ’ which  have  already  appeared  in  1906  are  : 

Part  73,  JANUARY 

STUART 

Part  74,  FEBRUARY 

DAVID 

Part  75,  MARCH  . 

BOCKLIN 

Part  76,  APRIL 

SODOMA 

Part  77,  MAY  . 

CONSTABLE 

Part  78,  JUNE  . 

METSU 

Part  79,  JULY 

INGRES 

Part  80,  AUGUST  . 

WILKIE 

PART  81,  I' 

II  E ISSUE  FOR 

September 

WILL 

TREAT  OF 

©fjirlanbajo 

NUMBERS  ISSUED 

IN  PREVIOUS  VOLUMES 

OF  ‘MASTERS  IN  ARE’ 

VOL.  1. 

VOL.  2. 

Part  1,  VAN  DYCK 

Par  1 13,  RUBENS 

Part  2,  TITIAN 

Part  14,  DA  VINCI 

Part  3,  VELASQUEZ 

Part  is,  DU  RER 

Part  4,  HOLBEIN 

Pari  16,  MICHELANGELO* 

PART  5,  BO  I 1 1CELLI 

Par  1 17,  MlCHELANGEI.Of 

Part  6,  REM  BRANDI 

Pari  18,  COROT 

Part  7,  REYNOLDS 

Par  1 19,  BURNE-JONES 

Pari  8,  MILLET 

Par  1 20,  TER  BORCH 

Part  9,  GIO.  BELLINI 

Pari  21,  DELLA  ROBBIA 

Part  10,  MURILLO 

Part  22,  DEL  SARTO 

Part  ii,  HALS 

Part  23,  GAINSBOROUGH 

Part  12,  RAPHAEL 

Part  24,  CORREGGIO 

* Sculptut 

e f Painting 

VOL.  3. 

VOL.  4. 

Part 2;,  PHIDIAS 

Part  37,  ROMNEY 

Part  26,  PERUG1NO 

Part  38,  FRA  ANGELICO 

Part  27,  HOLBEI  N ? 

Part  39,  WATTEAU 

Part  28,  TIN  I OR  1 1 TO 

Part  40,  RAPHAEL  * 

Part  29,  P.  deHOOCH 

Part  41,  DONATELLO 

Part  30,  NAT'I'I  ER 

Part  42,  GER  ARD  DOU 

Part  31,  PAUL  po  l l I K 

Part  43,  CARPACCIO 

Part  32,  GIOTTO 

Part  44,  ROSA  BONN  EUR 

Part  33,  PRAXITELES 

Part  45,  GUI  DO  R I NI 

Part  34,  HOGAK  TH 

Part  46,  p.  dbCH A VANNES 

Part  3?,  TURNER 

Part  47,  GIORGIONE 

Part  36,  I.UINI 

Part  48,  ROSSETTI 

^ Drawings  * Frescos 

VOL.  5. 

VOL.  6. 

Pari  49,  I1ARTOLOM  MEO  Part  61,  WATTS 

Par  i 50,  G K EUZK 

Part  62,  PALMA  VECCHIO 

Part  51,  DUKMR  * 

Part  63,  V IG  E E LK  BR  UN 

Part  52,  LOTTO 

Part 64,  MANTEGNA 

Pari  53,  I \ND  EER 

Part 65,  CHARDIN 

Part  <4,  VERM  EER 

Pakt66,  BKNO’/.ZO 

Part  5 5,  PINTORICCHIO  PAKT67,  JAN  STEEN 

I'AHT  <6,  THIi  VAN  EYCKS  Part  68,  M K M 1.1  N C 

Part  57,  MEISSONIER 

Part  69,  CLAUDE 

Part  58,  BA  RYE 

Part  70,  VKR  ROCCHIO 

Part  ?<;,  VERONESE 

Part  71,  K A K BUR  N 

Part  60,  COPLEY 

Part  72,  FILIPPO  LIPPI 

• F.ngravings 

ALL  THE  ABOVE  NAMED  ISSUES 

ARE  CONSTANTLY  KEPT  IN  STOCK 

Prices  on  and  after  January  i,  1906  : Single  number*  of 

back  volumes, 20  cents  cac  h 

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The  Temple 
at 

Paestum 


This  facsimile  reproduc- 
tion of  the  water-color  by  Hubert 
G.  Ripley  was  made  for  a special  feature  of 
The  Architectural  Review.  It  is  71^x93/^, 
and  will  be  appreciated  by  every  one  interested 
in  Greek  architecture.  We  had  one  hundred 
extra  reproductions  made  and  offer  them  to 
Masters  in  Art  subscribers  for  50  cents  each, 
post-paid.  The  above  illustration  gives  no 
idea  of  the  fine  color  effect  of  the  print,  which 
the  artist  has  approved  as  being  a perfect  re- 
production of  the  original  painting.  We  can- 
not too  strongly  recommend  our  readers  to 
secure  a print  for  framing. 


BATES  & GUILD  CO. 

Pub  li  s h e r s 

42  Chauncy  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


RED  CEDtkR 
| CttESTS 


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linir  during  tin*  nirlv  Spring  and  Rummer 
I 1 1. .<11  if-  and  Imioeti  1 1 Plwd mon I 

KimI  < '•mIjii*  ( '1m*hI  iln-i  mi'l  mi. Hi  proof. 

\ lionullfiil  M I n i:  Itlrtli- 

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PORTE  AIT  OF  WILKIE  TIT  HIMSELF 
SCOTTISH  NATIOMAL  PORTRAIT  GAL1EET,  EDINBURGH 
From  the  time  when  he  was  too  poor  to  afford  models  until  long  after  he  had  at- 
tained celebrity,  Wilkie,  for  the  practice  it  gave  him,  frequently  painted  his  own 
likeness.  One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  portraits  is  here  reproduced,  showing 
him  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  not  long  after  his  first  great  success.  In  person,  Wilkie 
was  tall  and  somewhat  ungainly;  his  complexion  was  pale,  his  eyes  blue,  his  thick 
hair  a tawny  yellow,  his  nose  rather  short,  and  his  mouth  humorous. 

[316] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


&tr  Datoili  tttUfcir 


BORN  1785:  DIED  1841 
ENGLISH  SCHOOL 


SIR  DAVID  WILKIE,  son  of  David  Wilkie  and  his  third  wife,  Isabella 
Lister,  was  born  on  November  1 8 , 1785,  at  Cults,  a small  village  on  the 
banks  of  Eden  Water  in  the  county  of  Fife,  Scotland,  where  his  father  was 
settled  as  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  parish  of  Cults  was  poor 
and  the  minister’s  salary,  at  no  time  exceeding  £100  a year,  barely  sufficed  for 
the  support  of  his  family  of  five  children  — four  sons  and  a daughter.  It  was 
therefore  amidst  the  humblest  surroundings  that  David’s  early  years  were 
passed.  Almost  from  babyhood  he  showed  a fondness  for  drawing.  In  later 
life  he  used  to  say  that  he  “could  draw  before  he  could  read,  and  paint  before 
he  could  spell,”  and  numerous  stories  are  told  of  the  way  in  which  “wee 
sunny-haired  Davie  ” covered  the  bare  walls  of  his  nursery  in  the  manse  with 
rude  sketches  made  with  a burnt  stick  or  a bit  of  chalk. 

When  six  years  old  he  was  sent  to  the  village  school  at  Pitlessie,  about  a 
mile  from  home.  From  all  accounts  he  spent  his  time  there  in  drawing  por- 
traits of  the  other  boys,  which,  as  his  reputation  with  his  comrades  increased, 
he  would  barter  for  marbles,  pencils,  or  pieces  of  chalk. 

At  twelve  he  was  removed  from  Pitlessie  school  to  one  at  Kettle,  two  miles 
farther  up  the  river  Eden.  The  master  there,  a Dr.  Strachan,  used  to  declare 
that  David,  though  always  quiet  and  demure,  was  “the  most  singular  scholar 
he  ever  attempted  to  teach,  with  an  eye  and  an  ear  for  all  the  idle  mischief  that 
was  at  hand.”  Slates,  benches,  and  walls  were  covered  with  his  sketches. 
When  his  head  was  supposed  to  be  down  over  his  task,  he  was  drawing  upon 
the  margin  of  his  book  likenesses  of  his  fellow-pupils. 

Even  in  the  “kirk”  his  irrepressible  pencil  did  not  rest,  and  while  his  father 
preached  from  the  pulpit  the  boy’s  eyes,  wandering  over  the  cold,  bare  little 
building  with  its  heavy  pews  and  clumsy  gallery,  would  be  struck  by  some 
worthy  member  of  the  congregation,  and  in  a moment  he  was  intently  sketch- 
ing his  unconscious  model  on  the  fly-leaf  of  Bible  or  psalm-book.  Once,  yield- 
ing to  temptation,  he  even  took  the  minister  himself  for  his  subject,  drawing  his 
portrait  with  a piece  of  soft  charcoal  on  the  bald  head  of  the  venerable  miller 
of  Pitlessie,  David’s  maternal  grandfather,  as  the  latter  was  sunk  in  slumber. 
After  eighteen  months’  schooling  at  Kettle  the  boy  was  sent  for  a short  time 

[317] 


24 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


to  the  Academy  at  Cupar,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  fourteen.  There  he 
was  taught  drawing  and  dancing  by  a “wandering  professor,”  and  there,  too, 
he  learned  to  play  the  fiddle. 

In  November,  1799,  the  minister  of  Cults  having  given  a reluctant  consent 
to  his  son’s  devoting  himself  in  earnest  to  the  study  of  art,  David,  accompanied 
by  his  father,  went  to  Edinburgh  with  a letter  of  introduction  from  the  Earl  of 
Leven  to  Mr.  George  Thomson,  secretary  of  the  Trustees’  Academy  of  Design. 
He  presented  himself  as  a candidate  for  admission  to  that  institution,  but  the 
sketches  that  he  submitted  were  not  deemed  good  enough  to  enable  him  to 
enter,  and  it  was  only  through  the  intervention  of  Lord  Leven  that  the  doors 
of  the  Academy  were  opened  to  him. 

Ensconced  in  an  attic  room  in  the  old  part  of  Edinburgh,  Wilkie  now  be- 
came a constant  attendant  at  the  school,  where  he  pursued  his  studies  under 
John  Graham,  master  of  the  classes  in  drawing  and  painting.  Burnet,  one  of 
his  fellow-pupils,  tells  us  that  he  had  “very  little  knowledge  of  drawing,  but 
much  enthusiasm  of  a queer  and  silent  kind,”  and  “though  behind  others  in 
skill,  he  surpassed  all  his  companions  in  comprehending  the  character  of  what- 
ever he  was  set  to  draw.”  “ He  was  always  first  on  the  stairs  leading  up  to  the 
Academy,”  writes  Burnet,  “anxious  not  to  lose  a moment  of  the  hours  of 
drawing.  . . . After  Academy  hours  those  who  were  apprentices  returned  to 
their  several  professions;  but  Wilkie  invariably  went  back  to  his  lodging,  there 
to  follow  out  what  was  begun  in  the  Academy  by  copying  from  his  own  hands 
and  face  in  a mirror.” 

Often  he  was  to  be  seen  in  the  market-place,  or  streets  of  Edinburgh,  sketch- 
ing some  picturesque  group;  and  when  too  poor  to  pay  his  models  with  money 
he  would  play  a tune  on  his  fiddle,  which  was  invariably  held  by  them  to  be 
ample  compensation. 

Such  industry  as  Wilkie’s  had  its  reward.  His  progress  was  rapid,  and  be- 
fore long  he  won  a ten-guinea  prize  in  a competition  among  the  students,  by  a 
picture  of  ‘ Diana  and  Calisto.’  This  was  followed  by  a study  of  ‘Village  Pol- 
iticians’ and  a sketch  from  ‘The  Gentle  Shepherd,’  in  both  of  which  his  pre- 
dilection for  genre  subjects  was  manifested. 

Early  in  1804  we  find  him  once  more  at  Cults,  trying  his  hand  at  portraiture, 
and  before  a year  was  over  he  had  turned  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  manse  into  a 
studio,  and  with  a chest  of  drawers  for  an  easel,  had  set  to  work  upon  his  first 
important  composition.  For  a subject  he  chose  a country  fair;  for  his  models, 
the  people  of  Cults  and  members  of  his  own  family. 

When  completed,  ‘ Pitlessie  Fair,’  as  this  picture  was  ultimately  called, 
caused  a sensation.  People  from  all  the  villages  round  about  flocked  to  Cults 
to  see  the  famous  work  and  the  youthful  painter,  then  barely  nineteen.  Mr. 
Ki  nnear  of  Kinloch  became  its  purchaser  for  £25,  which  in  the  estimation  of 
the  artist  and  of  all  Cults  seemed  a most  munificent  sum. 

Encouraged  by  this  success,  Wilkie  visited  St.  Andrews,  Dundee,  and  Aber- 
deen, in  the  hope  of  finding  employment  in  portraiture,  a branch  of  art  in 
which  he  never  excelled,  but  which  at  that  time  was  more  remunerative  than 
any  other.  Orders,  however,  were  not  numerous,  and  finally,  in  May,  1805, 

[318] 


WILKIE 


25 


with  some  £60  in  his  pockets,  he  sailed  in  a packet  from  Leith  for  London, 
carrying  with  him,  besides  various  sketches,  a small  picture  called  ‘Bounty 
Money,  or  The  Village  Recruit  ’ which  he  hoped  to  dispose  of  in  the  metropolis. 

Arrived  in  London,  Wilkie  took  lodgings  at  No.  8 Norton  St.,  Portland 
Road,  and  as  soon  as  the  Royal  Academy  schools  opened,  he  entered  as  a 
probationer.  “There  is  a raw,  tall,  pale,  queer  looking  Scotchman  come,” 
wrote  Jackson,  one  of  the  students  there,  “an  odd  fellow,  but  there  is  some- 
thing in  him.”  Wilkie  soon  became  acquainted  with  his  companions,  among 
whom  Jackson,  Mulready,  Haydon,  and  William  Collins  were  his  special 
friends.  Meantime  he  was  advanced  from  a probationer  to  a regular  student, 
and  outside  of  study  hours  began  a picture  of  ‘ The  Village  Politicians,’  which, 
through  the  kindness  of  a friend,  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Earl  of 
Mansheld,  who  somewhat  vaguely  agreed  to  purchase  it  for  fifteen  guineas. 
When  it  was  nearly  finished  Lord  Mulgrave  and  Sir  George  Beaumont,  hear- 
ing it  highly  praised  by  one  of  Wilkie’s  friends,  called  at  his  studio  to  see  the 
painting,  with  which  they  were  so  much  pleased  that  each  commissioned  him 
to  paint  a picture,  and,  as  a further  mark  of  appreciation  of  his  talent,  Sir 
George  bestowed  upon  him  Hogarth’s  mahlstick,  which  he  owned  and  had 
been  keeping  until  some  painter  should  be  born  who,  to  his  thinking,  should 
be  worthy  to  possess  it. 

In  spite  of  all  the  praise  accorded  ‘The  Village  Politicians,’  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  Wilkie  could  be  persuaded  to  send  it  to  the  Academy  exhibition, 
where,  however,  when  hung  on  the  walls  it  attracted  so  much  attention  that  it 
soon  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  picture  of  the  year.  No  one  was  more  sur- 
prised at  its  success  than  Wilkie  himself.  Haydon  tells  an  amusing  story  of 
how  he  and  Jackson,  reading  in  the  paper  the  day  after  the  opening  of  the 
exhibition  a commendatory  notice  of  the  artist,  rushed  to  Wilkie’s  room. 
“Wilkie,  my  boy,  your  name’s  in  the  paper!  ’’cried  Haydon.  “ Is  it  rea-al-ly  ? ’ ” 
said  Wilkie,  in  his  slow  drawl.  “I  read  the  puff,”  Haydon  goes  on,  “we  huz- 
zaed, and  taking  hands,  all  three  danced  round  the  table  until  we  were  tired.” 
The  next  day  the  three  friends  went  to  the  Academy  together.  There  was  no 
getting  near  the  popular  picture.  Wilkie,  very  pale,  kept  saying:  “ Dear,  dear, 
it’s  jest  wonderful!” 

Would-be  purchasers  for  the  painting  were  numerous,  but  Wilkie  felt  that 
Lord  Mansfield  had  the  first  claim,  though  even  his  modesty  demurred  at 
letting  his  picture  go  for  so  small  a sum  as  fifteen  guineas.  Eventually  Lord 
Mansfield,  after  some  unseemly  protest,  paid  him  double  that  amount. 

For  Sir  George  Beaumont,  well  known  as  a lover  of  art  and  liberal  patron 
of  artists  and  who  became  one  of  Wilkie’s  best  friends,  the  young  painter  now 
executed  his  since  famous  work,  ‘The  Blind  Fiddler.’  Orders  now  poured 
in  upon  him.  “I  believe  I do  not  exaggerate  when  I say  that  1 have  at  least 
forty  pictures  bespoke,”  he  wrote  to  his  brother  John  in  India. 

In  May,  1807,  the  artist  visited  his  home  in  Cults.  Great  was  the  rejoicing 
in  the  manse  and  in  the  neighborhood,  where  all  took  pride  in  his  success,  and 
from  far  and  wide  friends  came  to  congratulate  David  and  his  parents.  During 
this  visit  Wilkie  fell  i!l,  and  it  was  October  before  he  returned  to  London.  I le 

[3  19] 


26 


MASTERS  I N ART 


then  set  to  work  to  fill  his  numerous  commissions.  Among  the  best  known  of 
his  pictures  of  this  period  are  ‘The  Card  Players,’  painted  for  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  and  ‘The  Rent  Day’  for  Lord  Mulgrave.  While  at  work  upon 
this  last  subject,  to  facilitate  his  study  of  the  effect  of  light  and  shade,  Wilkie, 
whose  faculty  for  mechanical  work  was  second  only  to  his  talent  for  painting, 
modeled  little  figures  in  clay,  which  he  arranged  in  the  desired  positions  in  a 
miniature  room  made  of  a box,  with  a window  cut  in  one  end  to  admit  the  light. 

Two  years  after  this,  in  1809,  when  twenty-four,  Wilkie  was  elected  an 
Associate  of  the  Royal  Academy.  His  circle  of  acquaintances  was  steadily  in- 
creasing. His  letters  and  diary  tell  of  visits,  both  professional  and  social,  to 
numerous  country-seats:  now  he  is  painting  a portrait  of  the  Marchioness  of 
Lansdowne  at  Southampton  Castle,  now  he  is  at  Coleorton  visiting  Sir  George 
Beaumont,  or,  again,  making  a tour  in  Devonshire  with  Haydon,  whose 
friendship  plays  an  important  role  in  Wilkie’s  life.  Drawn  to  one  another  it 
may  be  by  the  very  differences  in  their  natures,  the  two  men  were  deeply  at- 
tached. Wilkie’s  cautious,  practical  disposition  was  frequently  a curb  upon 
Haydon’s  recklessness,  and  although  the  latter  in  his  autobiography  often 
ridicules  his  friend’s  tall,  ungainly  figure,  broad  Scotch  accent,  and  slow  de- 
liberation, he  nevertheless  highly  valued  Wilkie’s  sound  judgment,  simplicity, 
and  honesty. 

Many  stories  are  told  of  the  young  Scotchman’s  peculiarities,  of  his  awk- 
ward manner,  and  drawling,  hesitating  way  of  speaking.  His  good  humor 
was  imperturbable,  his  nature  absolutely  free  from  jealousy,  and  his  industry 
unceasing.  “Lads,  let  ’s  jest  be  doing,”  was  a customary  way  with  him  of 
closing  a fruitless  argument.  Haydon  tells  of  his  inveterate  habit  of  saying, 
“ Rea-al-ly.”  When  one  of  his  friends,  Callcott,  told  him  that  every  one  com- 
plained of  this,  Wilkie  pondered  for  a moment  and  then  said,  “Do  they 
rea-al-ly?”  “You  must  leave  it  off.”  “ I will,  rea-al-ly.”  “ For  heaven’s  sake,” 
said  Callcott,  “don’t  keep  repeating  it,  it  annoys  me.”  Wilkie  smiled,  and 
then  in  the  most  unconscious  mannner  said  slowly,  “Rea-al-ly!” 

Writing  of  him  in  after  years,  Leslie  said:  “The  little  peculiarities  of  his 
character,  as  they  all  arose  from  the  best  intentions,  rather  endeared  him  to 
his  friends  than  otherwise.  He  was  a modest  man,  and  had  no  wish  to  attract 
attention  by  eccentricity,  and  indeed  all  his  oddity,  and  he  was  in  many  things 
very  odd,  arose  from  an  extreme  desire  to  be  exactly  like  other  people.  Nat- 
urally shy  and  reserved,  he  forced  himself  to  talk.  . . . He  was  always  cere- 
monious, but,  as  I have  said,  from  modesty,  and  not  from  pride  or  affectation, 
for  no  man  had  less  of  either.” 

In  1810  Wilkie  had  an  unfortunate  experience  in  being  asked  to  withdraw 
from  the  Academy  exhibition,  prior  to  its  opening,  the  picture  he  had  sent  in, 
called  ‘The  Wardrobe  Ransacked,’  the  alleged  reason  for  the  request  being 
that  the  work  was  not  equal  to  his  previous  productions  and  would  suffer  by 
comparison  with  a picture  by  Blake,  another  painter  of  genre.  Although  feel- 
ing that  the  ignominy  of  removing  his  picture  would  probably  be  greater  than 
any  injury  to  his  reputation  which  might  accrue  from  exhibiting  it,  Wilkie 
withdrew  the  panel.  Conflicting  accounts  of  this  transaction  render  it  difficult 

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WILKIE 


27 


to  judge  rightly  of  the  facts,  but  there  seems  reason  to  suspect  that  jealousy  of 
Wilkie’s  success  among  a certain  taction  of  the  Academy  was  at  the  bottom  of 
the  trouble. 

During  the  following  autumn  Wilkie  was  at  work  upon  a large  canvas  called 
‘The  Village  Festival.’  Towards  the  close  ot  the  year  his  health,  never  very 
robust,  gave  way  and  he  was  obliged  for  a time  to  suspend  work.  In  the  fol- 
lowing February,  1 8 1 1,  he  was  elected  to  full  membership  in  the  Royal  Acad- 
emy. His  picture  of  ‘Blindman’s  Buff’  was  begun  at  about  this  time;  ‘The 
Village  Festival’  was  completed,  and  in  the  spring  of  1812  both  pictures  were 
exhibited,  with  a number  of  others  of  his  works,  in  a gallery  in  Pall  Mall  hired 
by  Wilkie  for  the  purpose.  Although  it  extended  his  reputation,  this  undertak- 
ing not  only  gave  offense  to  some  of  his  brother  Academicians,  but  was  a de- 
cided financial  failure.  The  public,  it  is  true,  patronized  the  exhibition  well, 
but  an  attachment  for  rent  was  entered  against  the  previous  tenant  of  the 
room, ‘The  Village  Festival r was  seized,  and  Wilkie  was  obliged  to  pay  £32 
for  its  release.  This  incident  led  to  the  execution  of  his  picture  ‘Distraining 
for  Rent.’ 

In  December  of  this  same  year,  1812,  Wilkie’s  father  died,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing summer  his  mother  and  sister  joined  him  in  London,  where  all  made  their 
home  together  in  Lower  Phdlimore  Place,  Kensington.  “A  more  devoted, 
affectionate  son  than  Wilkie  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find,”  writes  Lord 
Ronald  Gower.  “ Never  had  he  rejoiced  over  any  of  his  artistic  triumphs  as  he 
did  now  with  his  mother  and  sister  to  care  for  and  live  with.” 

‘The  Bagpiper,’  ‘The  Letter  of  Introduction,’  and  ‘The  Refusal’  are  the 
principal  pictures  of  this  period,  which  was  also  marked  by  a six  weeks’  visit 
to  Paris  in  company  with  Haydon.  There  Wilkie  carefully  studied  the  pic- 
tures in  the  Louvre,  where  the  works  of  the  Dutch  school  aroused  his  greatest 
admiration.  Two  years  later  he  again  went  to  Europe,  this  time  accompanied 
by  Raimbach,  the  engraver  of  many  of  his  works,  and  visited  the  principal 
cities  of  the  Netherlands. 

To  Scotland  he  devoted  his  holiday  wanderings  in  1817,  and  there  became 
acquainted  with  the  philosopher  Dugald  Stewart,  James  Hogg  the  poet,  and 
w^th  Sir  Walter,  then  Mr.,  Scott,  with  whom  he  spent  some  delightful  days  at 
Abbotsford.  “I  have  never  been  in  any  place,”  he  wrote  from  there  to  his 
sister,  “where  there  is  so  much  real  good  humor  and  merriment.  I here  is 
nothing  but  amusement  from  morning  till  night,  and  if  Mr.  Scott  is  really 
writing  ‘ Rob  Roy’  it  must  be  while  we  are  sleeping.” 

Immediately  upon  his  return  to  London  he  resumed  work  upon  a picture 
called  ‘The  Penny  Wedding,’  for  which  he  had  made  many  sketches  while  in 
Scotland.  This  was  followed  by  ‘ Reading  the  V ill,’  purchased  by  the  King 
of  Bavaria  and  now  in  the  New  Pinakothek,  Munich.  Several  smaller  sub- 
jects were  also  painted,  and  meantime  the  indefatigable  artist  was  engaged 
upon  an  important  work  for  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  representing  ‘Chelsea 
Pensioners  reading  the  Gazette  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo’ — a picture  which 
when  exhibited  made  nearly  as  much  stir,  we  are  told,  as  Waterloo  itself. 

Another  expedition  to  Scotland  was  undertaken  in  1822  for  the  purpose  of 

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MASTERS  IN  ART 


collecting  material  for  a picture  of  John  Knox  preaching,  and  for  a subject 
commemorative  of  the  visit  of  George  IV.  to  Edinburgh,  for  which  ‘The  Re- 
ception of  George  iv.  at  Holyrood  ’ was  finally  selected.  In  the  following  year, 
on  the  death  of  Sir  Henry  Raeburn,  Wilkie  had  the  honor  of  being  appointed 
his  successor  as  Limner  to  the  King  in  Scotland. 

Again  in  the  north  in  1824,  making  studies  for  his  ‘John  Knox’  and  being 
royally  entertained  in  Edinburgh,  Wilkie  was  called  home  by  his  mother’s  ill- 
ness, but  reached  London  too  late  to  see  her  again  in  life.  This  sorrow  was  a 
crushing  one  to  him  and  was  followed  by  a succession  of  tragedies.  His 
brother  James,  who  had  returned  from  Canada  broken  in  health,  died,  leaving 
a widow  and  family  of  children;  news  was  received  from  India  of  the  death  of 
his  elder  brother  John,  who  also  left  a widow  and  several  children;  and  in  addi- 
tion to  these  blows,  the  gentleman  to  whom  his  sister  was  engaged  dropped 
dead  on  the  day  before  her  intended  marriage. 

This  series  of  misfortunes  meant  increased  financial  cares  for  Wilkie,  whose 
health  broke  under  the  strain.  A nervous  cerebral  trouble  unfitted  him  for 
work,  and  lus  doctors  ordered  a complete  change  of  air  and  scene.  Accord- 
ingly, accompanied  by  his  cousin  David  Lister,  and  by  the  American  painter 
Gilbert  Stuart  Newton  (nephew  of  the  portrait-painter,  Gilbert  Stuart), 
Wilkie  left  England  for  an  extended  stay  in  Europe.  Paris  failed  to  divert  the 
invalid,  rendered  restless  and  despondent  by  grief,  and  they  turned  towards 
Italy,  visiting  Milan,  Geneva,  Pisa,  Florence,  Rome,  Naples,  and  Pompeii. 
Gradually  Wilkie’s  interest  in  his  surroundings  was  awakened,  and  the  letters 
he  wrote  to  friends  at  home  are  full  of  his  impressions  of  all  that  he  was  seeing. 

In  Rome  the  news  reached  him  of  the  failure  of  his  print-sellers,  involving 
him  in  heavy  loss.  Writing  to  his  brother  1 homas  at  the  time  of  this  new 
trouble,  he  said  : “ In  all  these  difficulties  I feel  no  want  of  resource  in  my  own 
mind.  With  anything  like  returning  health  I can  contest  the  whole  of  them 
inch  by  inch.”  But  health  refused  to  return.  Wandering  north  to  Bologna, 
Parma,  Padua,  Venice,  and  on  to  Munich,  he  was  advised  to  spend  another 
winter  in  a mild  climate,  and  after  visiting  Prague  and  Vienna,  where  he  was 
entertained  by  Prince  Metternich  and  the  French  ambassador,  he  returned  to 
Rome  and  was  made  welcome  there  by  a banquet  given  in  his  honor  by 
Scottish  artists  and  amateurs.  Soon  after  this  the  sad  news  reached  him  of  the 
death  of  Sir  George  Beaumont,  who  for  more  than  twenty  years  had  been  his 
stanch  and  helpful  friend. 

In  the  summer  of  1827  Wilkie’s  health  was  sufficiently  reestablished  to 
allow  him  to  paint,  and  in  Switzerland  he  once  more  took  up  his  brush.  Thence 
he  journeyed  into  Spain,  and  passed  seven  months  at  Madrid,  where  he  met 
and  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Washington  Irving.  The  artist  was  completely 
captivated  by  the  works  of  the  Spanish  masters,  above  all  by  those  of  Murillo 
and  Velasquez,  and  when,  in  May,  1828,  he  left  Spain,  those  painters  had  be- 
come his  models. 

In  June,  after  an  absence  of  three  years,  Wilkie  was  again  in  London,  full 
of  enthusiasm  for  the  works  of  the  Italian  and  Spanish  masters,  depreciating 
all  his  own  early  successes,  and  eager  to  try  his  hand  at  what  was  to  him  the 

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29 


new  method,  which  had  the  advantage  of  being  less  arduous  than  his  former 
manner  of  painting.  In  the  exhibition  of  the  following  year  were  eight  of  his 
pictures,  all  in  the  changed  style,  — ‘The  Maid  of  Saragossa,’  ‘The  Guerilla 
Council  of  War,’  ‘ The  Pifferari,’  and  others.  The  general  public  looked  with 
small  favor  on  these  works  of  their  favorite  painter,  nor  was  he  spared  by  the 
critics;  but  he  was  firm  in  his  new  departure,  and  four  of  the  pictures  were 
bought  by  the  king,  George  iv.,  who  professed  admiration  for  Wilkie’s  change 
of  style. 

‘The  Reception  of  George  iv.  at  Holyrood’  was  now  nearing  completion 
and  necessitated  another  trip  to  Scotland,  and  work  on  ‘The  Preaching  of 
}ohn  Knox’  was  resumed.  In  1830,  on  the  death  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence, 
Wilkie  was  appointed  Painter  in  Ordinary  to  George  iv.,  an  office  which  he 
retained  under  both  William  iv.  and  Victoria.  He  also  became  a candidate 
for  the  now  vacant  office  of  president  of  the  Royal  Academy,  but  was  defeated 
by  Sir  Martin  Archer  Shee. 

With  his  habitual  industry  Wilkie  had  returned  to  his  painting,  and  during 
the  next  ten  years  produced  a great  number  of  works,  including  ‘The  Peep 
o’Day  Boy’s  Cabin,’  ‘ The  Whisky  Still  ’ (painted  after  a visit  to  Ireland),  ‘ Sir 
David  Baird  discovering  the  Body  of  Tippoo  Sahib,’  ‘Queen  Victoria’s  First 
Council,’  and  several  portraits.  But  although  he  worked  with  his  old  vigor, 
none  of  his  pictures  of  this  period  can  compare  favorably  with  his  earlier  pro- 
ductions. 

In  addition  to  his  painting  Wilkie  had  from  time  to  time  tried  his  hand  at 
etching.  Examples  of  his  work  in  this  branch  of  art  are  very  rare,  but  show 
that  he  possessed  remarkable  skill.  Among  the  finest  are  ‘The  Pope  and 
Benvenuto  Cellini’  and  ‘The  Lost  Receipt,’  both  of  which  Philip  Gilbert 
Hamerton,  one  of  the  highest  authorities  on  etchings,  considers  “equal  to  the 
best  work  of  the  old  masters.” 

In  June,  1836,  Wilkie  was  knighted  by  King  William  iv.;  in  the  following 
year  he  removed  to  Vicarage  Place,  Kensington,  where  he  built  a “beau-ideal 
of  a studio,”  and  where  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  London  were  passed. 

Four  years  after  this,  in  company  with  his  friend  Mr.  William  Woodburn, 
Sir  David  Wilkie  left  England  for  the  East.  Passing  through  Holland,  Ger- 
many, and  Austria,  he  reached  Constantinople,  where  he  painted  a portrait  of 
the  sultan,  Abdul  Medjid,  and  from  there  went  to  Jerusalem — “the  most  in- 
teresting city  in  the  world,”  he  wrote  home.  His  letters  and  journal  written 
during  this  expedition  are  full  of  appreciation  of  the  country  through  which  he 
was  passing,  and  show  that  he  recognized  in  Palestine  a prolific  field  for  in- 
spiration for  a painter. 

In  April,  1841, the  travelers  turned  towards  home.  They  reached  Alexandria 
near  the  end  of  the  month,  but  were  detained  there  some  four  weeks,  waiting 
for  their  steamer.  Wilkie  began  a portrait  of  the  famous  Viceroy  of  Egypt, 
Mehemet  Ali,  but  before  its  completion  the  Oriental , in  which  they  were  to 
return  to  England,  had  arrived,  and  on  May  26  they  set  sail.  When  they 
reached  Malta  Wilkie  became  ill,  it  was  thought  from  eating  too  freely  of 
fruit,  but  he  recovered  and  was  on  deck  on  the  evening  of  May  31.  The  next 


30 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


morning  lie  was  found  lying  unconscious  on  the  floor  of  his  stateroom,  and  be- 
fore noon,  just  after  the  Oriental  had  passed  Gibraltar,  he  quietly  breathed 
his  last.  I he  steamer  at  once  put  back,  and  a request  was  sent  ashore  for  per- 
mission to  land  the  body.  Owing  to  quarantine  regulations,  however,  this  re- 
quest was  refused,  so  the  ship’s  carpenter  made  a rude  coffin,  and  at  half  past 
eight  in  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  died,  June  I,  1841,  the  en- 
gines of  the  Oriental  were  stopped,  the  funeral  service  was  read,  and  the  body 
of  Sir  David  Wilkie  was  lowered  into  the  sea.1 

The  sorrow  felt  in  England  and  Scotland  when  the  news  of  Wilkie’s  death 
reached  there  was  universal.  “His  life,”  writes  Lord  Ronald  Gower,  “was 
one  of  constant,  earnest,  honest  work.  ...  As  an  artist  he  had  great  and 
original  talent;  as  a friend  he  was  true  and  loyal;  and  as  a son  and  a brother 
he  was  most  self-sacrificing  and  devoted.  In  all  respects  David  Wilkie  was 
an  honest  man,  of  whom  all  Scotchmen  may  be  justly  proud.” 


Cije  art  of  WiMt 

EDWARD  PINNINGTON  ‘SIR  DAVID  WILKIE’ 

TO  a true  appreciation  of  Wilkie  as  an  artist,  the  first  essential  is  that  art 
and  its  objects  should  be  looked  at  as  nearly  as  may  be  from  his  point  of 
view,  and  be  seen  through  his  eyes  if  that  were  possible.  He  can  afterwards 
be  tried  by  any  abstract  standard  the  critic  chooses.  Only  by  his  motive  can 
his  accomplishment  be  measured;  the  question  of  worthiness  or  worthlessness, 
nobility  or  ignobility,  opulence  or  poverty,  rightness  or  wrongness,  follows  the 
unveiling  of  the  idea  and  the  analysis  of  its  expression. 

It  must,  furthermore,  be  remembered  that  art  is  an  evolution,  and  that  crit- 
icism follows  and  cannot  lead  art.  Turner  was  not  Claude,  Corot  was  not 
Hobbema,  Whistler  is  not  Titian,  and  Orchardson  is  not  Wilkie.  The  older 
order  is  always  changing,  and  the  channels  are  many  through  which  the  mes- 
sage of  art  reaches-  humanity. 

It  is,  moreover,  possible  to  form  a relative  as  well  as  an  absolute  estimate  of 
art,  and  to  adjudge  him  a representative  painter  who  best  illustrates  the  par- 
ticular phase  of  art  distinctive  of  his  own  time.  For  it  may,  in  the  first  place, 
be  said  broadly  that  there  is  no  form  of  past  art  that  may  not  be  found  in 
present  practice.  It  were,  accordingly,  folly  to  break  down  the  intermediate 
steps  between  the  imitative  dexterity  of  realism,  the  conventional  and  arbitrary 
phrasing  of  idealism,  and  the  intellectuality  of  personal  impressionism.  . . . 

Wilkie  was  a realist  and  something  more.  What  he  says  in  his  ‘ Remarks  ’ is 
reflected  in  his  practice:  “If  true  artwere  but  an  exact  representation  of  nature, 
it  would  be  practised  with  absolute  certainty  and  assurance  of  success;  but  the 
duty  of  art  is  of  a higher  kind.  . . . Art  is  only  art  when  it  adds  mind  to  form.” 

1 Turner’s  great  picture  in  the  National  Gallery  (see  Masters  in  Art,  Part  35,  Vol.  3),  entitled 
‘ Peace:  Burial  at  Sea,’  impressively  commemorates  the  event. 

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WILKIE 


3 1 


This  must  be  remembered  when  it  is  said  that  his  first  aim  was  truth  to  reality- 
When  he  painted  the  blue  jacket  and  the  striped  petticoat,  the  Jew’s  harp 
and  the  plucked  fowl,  the  fiddle  and  the  pulpit,  from  the  things  themselves, 
he  did  not  do  so  for  their  own  sakes.  He  introduced  them  neither  as  points  of 
form  nor  as  notes  of  color.  He  regarded  them  solely  as  essentials  to  the  com- 
pleteness of  his  conception.  He  went  to  Palestine  in  search  of  facts,  but  the 
facts  were  wanted  to  illustrate  the  Scriptures  and  to  confirm  their  accuracy. 

Radiating  from  this  center,  his  other  opinions  are  easily  traced.  He  held 
matter  above  manner,  expression  and  sentiment  above  dexterity  of  brush- 
work.  Color  he  placed  in  the  forefront  of  pictorial  quality,  but  the  intellectual 
side  of  art  was  ever  to  him  more  than  the  technical.  So  much  may  be  gathered 
from  the  record  of  his  foreign  tours.  . . . 

In  his  own  time  Wilkie  was  both  derided  and  held  in  high  esteem.  We  have 
read  of  his  style  being  dubbed  the  pan-and-spoon  and  pauper  style,  and  even 
Edward  Fitzgerald  said,  “There  was  always  something  vulgar  about  Wilkie.” 
Mackay’s  protest  needs  no  emphasis,  that  if  he  drew  his  subjects  from  com- 
mon life,  in  his  style  there  is  nothing  vulgar.  Writing  in  1887,  Professor  Hodg- 
son, R.  A.,  says,  “There  is  no  trace  left  of  Dutch  influence,  of  Metsu,  Ostade, 
or  Ter  Borch;  the  type  of  art  set  by  Wilkie,  Webster,  and  Mulready  has  gone 
the  way  of  the  great  auk  and  the  dodo.”  It  has  gone,  we  are  told,  “to  give 
way  to  a more  restless  feeling,  to  greater  earnestness  in  pursuit  of  truth.”  The 
old  question  recurs,  What  is  truth  ? Surely  Wilkie  sought  it,  or  what  he  mis- 
took for  it,  with  earnestness.  It  is  on  record  that  Sir  George  Beaumont  used 
to  tell  of  watching  Wilkie  while  painting,  when  so  intense  was  his  labor  that 
he  scarcely  seemed  to  breathe.  He  was  intent  upon  the  pursuit  of  truth.  . . . 

C.  R.  Leslie,  R.  A.,  comments  upon  the  beauty  of  one  picture,  the  grandeur 
of  another,  upon  the  excellence  of  Wilkie’s  composition,  the  truth  of  his  effects, 
the  taste  of  his  execution,  and  compresses  his  final  judgment  into  a single 
word  — “the  country,  by  the  death  of  Wilkie,  lost  a great  artist.” 

Further  opinion,  chiefly  lay,  has  a biographical  interest,  but  holds  little  of 
either  light  or  leading.  Ruskin  says,  “Wilkie  becomes  popular,  like  Scott,  be- 
cause he  touches  passions  which  all  feel,  and  expresses  truths  that  all  can  rec- 
ognize.” Scott  values  Wilkie,  “the  far  more  than  Teniers  of  Scotland,”  be- 
cause he  had  something  to  say  to  the  mind  of  a man  like  himself.  I his  ac- 
cords with  Mollett  — “Wilkie  is  the  plain  man’s  friend;”  and  with  Allan  Cun- 
ningham— “He  spoke  to  all  degrees  of  knowledge  and  to  all  varieties  of 
taste.”  Bulwer  esteems  him  “the  Goldsmith  of  painters,  in  the  amiable  and 
pathetic  humor,  in  the  combination  of  smiles  and  tears,  of  the  familiar  and  the 
beautiful.”  To  Mrs.  Charles  Heaton  he  is,  after  Hogarth,  “the  greatest 
painter  of  familiar  life  of  the  English  school” — his  pictures  need  no  explana- 
tion. Wedmore,  on  the  other  hand,  finds  little  more  in  Wilkie  than  a desire  to 
amuse;  there  is  no  message,  no  dignity,  in  his  early  art;  and  he  winds  up  a 
marvel  of  criticism  by  saying  that,  through  burner's  great  picture,  Wilkie’s 
death  is  more  remembered  than  his  life. 

William  Bewick,  artist,  was  surprised  that  in  painting  Scott,  \\  ilkie  should 
have  followed  the  Goldsmith  of  Reynolds:  “I  expected  that  such  a man  as 


32 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Wilkie  would  have  struck  out  something  of  his  own  — an  original  impression 
of  the  individual  character.”  Dr.  Waagen  pronounces  Wilkie  “the  greatest 
subject-painter,  not  only  in  England,  hut  of  our  time,”  and  his  pictures  “the 
most  spirited,  animated,  and  faithful  representations  of  the  peculiarities  and 
modes  of  life  of  the  English.”  Tirebuck  concludes  his  sketch  of  the  painter 
with  these  memorable  words:  “Some  painters  have  taught  us  to  admire  na- 
ture; some  have  increased  our  affection  for  animals;  Wilkie  has  deepened  our 
love  of  mankind.”  ...  Sir  Walter  Armstrong  decides  that,  if  Wilkie  had 
held  by  his  Dutch  masters,  “he  would  have  stood  on  a far  higher  pedestal 
than  he  does  now.”  With  their  works  as  a standard,  and  the  Scots  peasantry 
for  subjects,  “he  would  have  been  a pictorial  Burns.”.  . . 

From  ‘The  Village  Politicians’  onward  to  1 8 1 1 , Wilkie  was  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Teniers.  As  the  type  of  the  Teniers  period  Burnet  takes  ‘The  Blind 
Fiddler.’  Ostade  followed,  and  held  Wdkie  in  thrall  down  to  about  1822. 
This  period  includes  ‘Blindman’s  Buff,’  ‘Duncan  Gray,’  ‘Distraining  for 
Rent,’  and  ‘The  Chelsea  Pensioners.’  Rembrandt  came  in  with  ‘The  Parish 
Beadle,’  and,  according  to  Dr.  Waagen,  ‘Columbus’  was  painted  under  the 
joint  influence  of  Murillo  and  Velasquez.  From  all  this  it  would  appear  that 
Wilkie  never  expressed  himself.  He  painted  chiefly  in  Dutch  and  Spanish. 

There  never,  alas!  was  a Wilkie  period.  Upon  this  point  the  sanest  dictum 
appears  to  be  that  of  Brydall:  “Wilkie  repeatedly  changed  his  style.  . . . 
without  imitating  any  one.  He  experimented  on  his  own  powers  with  the  in- 
tention of  developing  new  methods,  and  was  cautious  in  allowing  himself  to 
believe  that  he  had  at  any  time  attained  the  greatest  excellence  of  which  he 
was  capable.”.  . . 

Taking  them  all  in  all,  Wilkie’s  soundest  critics  will  in  all  likelihood  be 
found  in  the  Redgraves  and  1 heophile  Silvestre.  The  former  remind  us  that, 
after  Spain,  he  not  only  ignored  all  executive  finish,  but  considered  it  as  tending 
to  bad  art.  They  allow  that,  in  his  later  works,  there  is  great  beauty  in  the 
rich  tone  and  the  mellifluent  melting  of  the  color  into  it.  But  “in  choosing 
historical  rather  than  merely  dramatic  subjects,  Wilkie  shut  himself  out  from 
his  strongest  quality  — character.”  They  also  think  the  change  led  him  out  of 
his  depths  and  beyond  his  powers.  In  his  portraits  they  find  the  heads  want- 
ing in  drawing  and  in  high  character.  His  weakness  consists  in  the  inability 
to  seize  the  mental  characteristics  of  a sitter,  and  to  give  the  best  expression. 
His  middle  methods,  too,  had  a bad  influence,  tending  to  bring  discredit  upon 
English  pictures,  as  entirely  wanting  in  permanency.  They,  and  the  pigments 
he  used,  were  accordingly  soon  discarded.  “His  early  art  certainly  made  a 
great  impression  on  the  English  school;  showing  how  Dutch  art  might  be 
nationalized,  and  story  and  sentiment  added  to  scenes  of  common  life  treated 
with  truth  and  individuality.”  Silvestre  places  Wilkie  beside  Hogarth,  but  he 
makes  the  contrast  between  them  instructive  and  suggestive.  . . . 

Wilkie  recorded  and  transcribed,  naturalized  and  described,  but  he  also 
translated  nature  and  human  life.  He  did  not  forget,  firstly,  to  infuse  living 
thought  and  emotion  into  the  dead  matter  of  nature,  and,  secondly,  that  the 
matter  thus  enlivened  must  be  clad  in  the  manner  approved  of  art. 

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WILKIE 


33 


He  presents  no  deep  problem,  provided  we  take  him  as  he  offers  himself  to 
be  taken.  Although  criticism  now  demands  subjectivity  in  the  highest  art, 
the  art  that,  like  Wilkie’s,  is  largely  objective,  but  so  far  subjective  as  to  reveal 
the  individuality  of  the  artist,  will  never  pass  away.  Art  may  be  said  alterna- 
tively to  be  moving  from  not  only  the  form,  but  the  more  obvious  and  direct 
impression  of  nature,  to  the  statement  of  the  personal  impression  of  the 
painter. 

In  the  latter  case  everything  depends  upon  the  imaginative  power  and 
esthetic  constitution  of  the  artist.  Subject  cannot  carry  him  above  his  own 
perception  of  the  beautiful.  It  is  possible  to  make  a picture  out  of  a combina- 
tion of  color  that  shall  be  intellectually  and  emotionally  vacuous,  and  yet  full 
of  stereoscopic  charm.  It  is  also  possible  to  lend  color,  even  at  a sacrifice  of 
part  of  its  beauty,  to  the  phrasing  of  an  appeal  to  either  the  emotions  or  the 
intellect,  or  both.  The  art  that  makes  the  triple  appeal  must  needs  be  greater 
than  that  which  is  concentrated  upon  a single  aim.  The  picture  that  pleases 
and  satisfies  the  eye,  and  at  the  same  time  touches  the  heart  and  quickens  the 
understanding,  must  needs  be  greater  than  one  that  fascinates  the  eye  but 
goes  no  further. 

And  such  was  the  aim  and  measurable  accomplishment  of  Wilkie.  He  did 
not  paint  pictures  which  are  mere  canvas  and  paint  set  in  a gilt  frame.  He 
carried  technique  to  as  high  a point  of  excellence  as  he  could  attain,  and  in  the 
language  of  form  and  color  addressed  himself  to  the  heart  and  mind  of  man. 
So  long  as  human  nature  is  constituted  as  it  is,  so  long  as  the  heart  has  passions 
and  humanity  remains  the  one  great  subject  of  all-absorbing  interest  to  man, 
so  long  will  there  be  a place  in  art  for  such  works  as  those  of  Sir  David  Wilkie. 

J.  E.  HODGSON  AND  F.  A.  EATON  ‘THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY  AND  ITS  MEMBERS’ 

THE  pictures  which  Wilkie  painted  between  1806  and  1825,  and  which  all 
belong  to  what  may  be  termed  his  first  style,  are  no  doubt  those  on  which 
his  fame  will  chiefly  rest.  His  extraordinary  ability  in  the  composition  of 
groups  of  figures  and  accessories,  and  in  rendering  truth  of  character  and  ex- 
pression, is  seen  at  its  best  in  these  earlier  works;  no  painter  has,  perhaps,  ever 
exceeded  him  in  the  deftness  with  which  he  could  express  the  twinkle  of  an 
eye  or  the  quiver  of  a lip.  . . . 

After  Wilkie’s  visit  to  Spain  in  1827,  he  adopted  a change  of  style,  for  which 
no  doubt  the  fascinating  works  of  Velasquez  were  answerable.  Such  pictures 
as  ‘The  Maid  of  Saragossa’  and  ‘The  Preaching  of  John  Knox’  still  show  his 
powers  of  composition  standing  him  in  good  stead,  and  wherever  he  gets  a 
chance  he  displays  his  old  dexterity  in  the  expression  and  character  of  the 
heads;  though  he  is  not  nearly  so  much  at  home  with  lords  or  ladies  or  Spanish 
monks  as  he  is  with  Highland  pipers  or  Fifeshire  peasants.  At  this  period  of 
his  life  he  had  become  the  abject  slave  of  asphaltum,  which  seductive  but 
treacherous  pigment,  though  it  might  for  a time  produce  something  approach- 
ing the  deep  shadow  tones  of  Rembrandt,  would  by  no  means  help  him  to  the 
somber  and  sedate  grays  of  the  mighty  Spaniard.  You  cannot  teach  an  old 
dog  new  tricks.  Excited  to  a new  departure  in  breadth  of  treatment  by  seeing 

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MAS  T E R S IN  ART 


the  works  of  Velasquez,  it  is  marvelous  how  Wilkie  totally  failed  in  catching 
the  aspect  and  spirit  of  the  Spanish  master. 

In  one  respect,  indeed,  he  may  claim  resemblance  to  him,  and  that  is  in  the 
intenseness  of  his  nationality.  Just  as  Velasquez  was  the  very  essence  of  a 
Spaniard,  so  Wilkie  was  the  most  Scottish  of  Scotsmen;  he  might  almost  he 
considered  the  Burns  of  art,  for  his  picture  of ‘The  Penny  Wedding’  breathes 
with  the  very  soul  of  Burns,  and  he  is  never  so  successful  in  the  expression  of 
life  and  character  as  when  the  scenes  and  the  people  he  represents  are  those 
of  his  native  land. 

T.  SILVESTRE  ‘L’ART,  LES  ARTISTES,  ET  L’  INDUSTRIE  EN  ANGLETERRE’ 

THE  personages  on  David  Wilkie’s  canvases  are  portrayed  as  accurately 
as  if  seen  through  an  object-glass.  A figure  by  Hogarth  is  the  portrait  of 
a passion;  a figure  by  Wilkie  is  the  portrait  of  an  individual.  Hogarth  paints 
what  strikes  his  eye  in  order  to  deduce  a moral  from  it;  Wilkie  paints  what  he 
sees  in  order  to  amuse  and  please.  Hogarth’s  work  is  a moral  history;  Wilkie’s 
is  a familiar  chronicle.  One  speaks  to  the  mind;  the  other  addresses  the  eye. 
In  the  English  types  which  he  paints  Hogarth  makes  us  acquainted  with  men 
of  all  times  and  all  countries;  in  those  same  types  Wilkie  shows  the  character- 
istics of  his  nation.  Hogarth  is  a psychologist  as  well  as  a painter;  Wilkie  is  a 
painter,  an  excellent  painter,  but  nothing  more.  He  carries  a truthful  ren- 
dering of  expression  even  farther  than  Hogarth,  but  his  figures,  instead  of  ex- 
pressing an  idea,  express  a passing  sensation.  A man  coughs,  laughs,  or  drinks. 
Wilkie  represents  him  coughing,  laughing,  or  drinking  in  a perfectly  natural 
way — but  that  is  all.  He  is  superior  to  Hogarth  in  execution;  and  yet  Hogarth 
is  more  pleasing  in  his  breadth  of  treatment,  and  even  in  his  carelessness. 
Compare  Wilkie’s  ‘Blind  Fiddler’  with  Hogarth’s  ‘Election  Feast’  and  you 
will  see  the  difference. 

Wilkie  belongs  to  the  amiable  family  of  Teniers;  but  he  excels  the  Flemish 
artist  by  the  patient  finish  of  his  work  and  the  depth  of  his  color.  He  gives 
much  thought  to  his  pictures  and  arranges  his  most  populous  scenes  in  an 
orderly  way,  dividing  them  up  according  to  episodes;  Teniers’  compositions 
are  for  the  most  part  scattered  with  a kind  of  disorder.  Wilkie’s  pictures  are 
reports  — literal  descriptions  of  what  is  going  on  in  the  house  or  on  the  street. 

If  you  listen  to  an  inquisitive  man,  a man  who  is  curious  about  the  affairs  of 
others,  who  is  minute  to  excess,  whom  nothing  escapes  and  who  feels  that  he 
must  describe  to  you  everything  he  has  seen,  everything  he  has  observed  in  any 
house,  or  farm,  or  inn  of  the  United  Kingdom,  he  will  give  you  every  detail 
concerning  the  father,  mother,  children,  grandparents,  servants,  the  dog,  cat, 
ox,  sheep,  horse,  and  ass;  he  will  describe  the  pots  and  pans,  the  chairs, 
tables,  and  cupboards,  and  you  will  have  before  you  the  painter  W ilkie;  but  if 
he  omit  a single  board,  stick,  glass,  or  door-nail,  then  that  man  is  not  Whlkie. 

There  is  only  one  way  to  express  an  opinion  of  this  genius,  so  painstaking 
and  so  conscientious  in  depicting  every  little  detail  of  nature,  and  that  is  to  try 
to  paint  with  words  one  of  the  subjects  that  he  has  related  with  his  brush. 
Wilkie  introduces  many  contrasts  into  his  works,  perpetually  balancing  the 

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WILKIE 


35 


different  expressions  of  his  faces,  the  attitudes,  gestures,  forms,  ages,  sexes, 
and  temperaments.  He  possesses  in  the  highest  degree  the  power  of  giving 
life  by  gesture.  You  can  almost  hear  the  laughter  in  his  ‘Blindman’s  Buff;’ 
never  were  children  more  alive  than  are  those  in  his  picture  ‘The  Rat  Hunt- 
ers.’ His  genius  is  like  the  sparkling  genius  of  Ostade. 

Wilkie  excels  in  works  of  small  dimensions;  in  large  canvases  he  is  seen  to 
less  advantage.  His  sketches  are  admirable;  when,  however,  he  carries  them 
farther  they  are  often  spoiled  by  over-elaboration.  He  is  and  will  always  re- 
main a great  painter;  he  is  full  of  life  and  he  imparts  it  to  his  works.  — from 
THE  FRENCH 


%\ )t  Works  Of  mikit 

DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  PLATES 

‘THE  LETTER  OF  INTRODUCTION’  PLATE  I 

ONE  of  Wilkie’s  most  successful  works  is  ‘The  Letter  of  Introduction,’ 
painted  in  1813.  Lord  Ronald  Gower  says : “ It  is  in  every  sense  a master- 
piece; it  is  redolent  of  the  finest  humor,  and  the  technique  is  as  admirable  as 
the  humor.  ...  It  is  more  human,  more  real,  than  the  whole  of  his  historical 
compositions  together,  and  is  worthy  of  a place  in  the  Valhalla  of  British 
painting.” 

The  incident  portrayed  is  taken  from  an  experience  in  the  artist’s  early  life. 
When  Wilkie  first  went  to  London  as  a youth  of  nineteen  he  carried  with  him 
several  letters  of  introduction,  among  which  was  one  to  Mr.  Caleb  Whitefoord, 
an  antiquary  and  publicist  of  note.  Upon  presenting  his  letter,  Mr.  White- 
foord, struck  by  the  youthful  look  of  the  bashful  young  Scotchman,  inquired 
his  age:  “ Really  now,”  said  Wilkie,  with  characteristic  hesitation.  “Ha,”  ex- 
claimed Whitefoord,  “introduce  a man  to  me  who  knows  not  how  old  he  is!” 
and  he  regarded  his  visitor  suspiciously.  “This  was  in  the  artist’s  mind,”  says 
Cunningham,  “when  he  formed  the  resolution  to  paint  the  subject;  and  Caleb 
and  his  well-arranged  bookcase,  his  little  folding  desk,  bundles  of  papers  reg- 
ularly labeled,  sword  suspended  from  a nail  in  the  wall  to  mark  his  gentle  de- 
scent, for  he  was  a Whitefoord  of  that  ilk,  and  a china  jar  on  the  floor  to  mark 
the  man  of  vertu,  sat,  as  I may  say,  for  his  portrait.” 

“The  very  top  of  Wilkie’s  art,”  writes  Mr.  D.  S.  MacCoil,  “is  ‘I  he  Letter 
of  Introduction.’  He  has  got  away  from  the  slatiness  of  ‘ I he  Blind  fiddler, 
and  reached  a summit  of  silvery  fair  color.  For  exactness  of  expression  and 
dainty  beauty  of  painting  in  the  still-life  it  is  like  a Metsu.” 

1 his  painting  measures  two  feet  one  inch  high  by  one  foot  nine  inches  wide, 
and  is  here  reproduced  by  permission  of  the  owner,  I homas  Brocklebank, 
Lsq.,  of  Heswall,  England,  who  also  owns  Wilkie’s  original  pen  and  ink 
drawing  for  the  picture. 


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36 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


‘THE  PENNY  WEDDING’  PLATE  II 

THE  PENNY  WEDDING,’  or,  as  it  was  originally  called,  ‘The  Scotch 
Wedding,’  is  one  of  Wilkie’s  most  popular  works.  It  was  painted  in 
1819  for  the  prince  regent,  afterwards  George  iv.,  as  a companion  picture  for 
‘Blindman’s  Buff,’  and  is  now  in  Buckingham  Palace,  London. 

“The  singular  custom,”  writes  Lord  Ronald  Gower,  “which  in  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century  obtained  at  country  weddings  in  Scotland, 
called  ‘Penny  Weddings,’  had  been  sung  by  the  poet  king  James,  and,  nearer 
to  our  own  time,  by  Allan  Ramsay.  It  originated  in  the  guests  at  these  wed- 
dings having  to  pay  a penny  or  to  bring  some  small  gift  of  food  or  drink 
towards  defraying  the  wants  of  the  donor  of  the  festival.  Wilkie’s  well-known 
painting,  now  in  the  royal  collection,  represents  the  interior  of  a barn  con- 
verted into  a ball-room.  The  festival  is  at  its  merriest;  the  famous  fiddler,  Neil 
Gow,  is  playing  his  best,  assisted  by  another  musician;  the  wedding  guests  are 
dancing  gaily  to  their  strains;  the  bride  is  being  led  out  by  the  bridegroom, 
other  visitors  looking  on;  whilst  in  the  background  a table  is  spread  with  sup- 
per. Wilkie  put  his  whole  strength  into  this  picture,  and  the  subject  was  one 
peculiarly  suited  to  his  pencil.” 

‘BLINDMAN’S  BUFF’  PLATE  III 

THE  celebrated  picture  of  ‘ Blindman’s  Buff’  was  exhibited  at  the  Royal 
Academy  in  1813.  While  still  on  the  painter’s  easel  it  had  been  greatly 
admired  by  the  prince  regent,  afterwards  George  iv.,  who  purchased  it  for 
five  hundred  guineas. 

“It  is  among  the  finest  of  Wilkie’s  pictures,”  writes  Mr.  William  Bayne, 
“rich  in  color,  admirable  in  composition,  and  full  of  life  and  movement.  ‘You 
can  almost  hear  the  laughter,’  is  an  appreciation  of  Silvestre,  the  French  critic. 
The  delineation  of  the  light-hearted,  boisterous  game  of  British  homes  of  the 
olden  time  is  managed  with  an  accuracy  and  a spirit  that  are  alike  perfect.” 
The  picture  belongs  to  the  King  of  England,  and  hangs  in  Buckingham 
Palace,  London.  It  measures  two  feet  two  inches  high  by  three  feet  wide. 

‘THE  RABBIT  ON  THE  WALL’  PLATE  IV 

THE  RABBIT  ON  THE  WALL,’  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called  in  Scot- 
land ‘The  Hare  amang  the  Kale,’ is  suggestive  of  the  artificial  light 
effects  of  the  Dutch  masters.  In  many  respects  it  shows  Wilkie  at  his  best. 
The  scene  is  the  interior  of  a cottage,  and  the  interest  of  the  six  personages 
introduced  — a father,  mother,  and  four  children  — is  centered  upon  the 
shadow  cast  upon  the  wall,  which,  owing  to  the  ingenious  position  of  the 
father’s  hands,  is  in  the  form  of  a rabbit.  The  delight  of  the  baby  in  its 
mother’s  lap,  the  enjoyment  of  the  other  children,  one  of  whom  holds  a lighted 
candle  in  such  a way  that  the  rabbit  may  be  clearly  defined,  the  look  of  comic 
gravity  in  the  father’s  face  and  of  quiet  amusement  in  the  mother’s,  are  ad- 
mirably portrayed. 

The  picture  measures  a little  over  two  feet  high  by  one  foot  nine  inches 
wide.  It  is  now  at  Craigside,  Rothbury,  England,  the  home  of  the  late  Lord 
Armstrong. 


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WILKIE 


37 


'THE  REFUSAL’  PLATE  V 

‘ f I ^HE  REFUSAL,’  or  ‘Duncan  Gray,’  as  it  was  first  called,  was  inspired 
X by  Burns’s  well-known  song:  — 

Duncan  Gray  cam’  here  to  woo, 

Ha!  ha!  the  wooing  o’t; 

On  blythe  Yule  night  when  we  were  fu’, 

Ha!  ha!  the  wooing  o’t. 

Maggie  coost  her  head  fu’  heigh. 

Look’d  asklent,  and  unco  skeigh, 

Gart  poor  Duncan  stand  abeigh; 

Ha!  ha!  the  wooing  o’t. 

For  the  figure  of  the  rejected  lover  it  is  said  that  the  artist  Mulready  posed; 
for  that  of  Maggie,  Wilkie’s  sister;  while  for  the  older  woman  he  took  his 
mother  as  his  model.  The  coloring  is  in  a low,  warm  key.  The  dark  dress  of 
the  old  man  and  the  black  coat  of  the  younger  one  merge  into  the  shadowy 
background  of  the  room.  In  contrast  to  his  black  coat  Duncan’s  waistcoat  is 
red  and  his  breeches  are  yellowish.  Maggie  is  dressed  in  a delicately  tinted 
lilac  gown  and  creamy  white  sacque,  while  over  her  chair  is  a scarf  of  bright 
colors.  The  old  woman,  looking  so  appealingly  at  her  wayward  daughter,  is 
in  dark  red.  All  the  accessories  are  painted  with  a care  and  a beauty  of  finish 
worthy  of  a Dutch  “little  master.’’ 

The  panel  measures  about  two  feet  high  by  one  foot  nine  inches  wide.  It 
is  now  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  London. 

‘THE  VILLAGE  FESTIVAL’  PLATE  VI 

IN  1809  Wilkie  began  his  picture  of ‘The  Village  Festival,’  called  originally 
‘The  Ale-house  Door.’  For  over  a year  he  bestowed  indefatigable  care 
upon  it,  frequently  repainting  various  figures  and  altering  details. 

“It  is  a picture  of  merry  England,”  writes  Mr.  Edward  Pinmngton,  “m 
which  there  is  much  quaffing  of  ale,  brightened  on  one  side  with  humor  and 
laughter,  dashed  with  rustic  love-making  and  ‘daffin’,  and  shaded  on  the  other 
with  sottishness  and  excess.  . . . 

“The  painter’s  chief  concern  was  no  doubt  to  be  true  to  fact,  in  both  the 
broad  significance  of  his  work  and  its  details.  He  went,  for  example,  to  Pad- 
dington looking  for  a public  house  suitable  to  his  purpose.  He  bought  a 
smock-frock  in  which  to  clothe  his  principal  figure,  and  painted  petticoats  and 
gowns  from  the  articles  themselves.  When  one  of  his  male  models  was  ill, 
Wilkie  sent  for  his  blue  jacket  and  began  painting  from  it.  ‘I  went,’  he  says 
in  his  journal,  ‘to  the  shop  of  a Jew,  and  bought  a pair  of  velveteen  small- 
clothes to  paint  from;  I also  bought  a jacket  and  apron  for  the  same  pur- 
pose.’ All  the  figures,  including  the  dog  running  before  the  principal  group, 
were  painted  from  nature.” 

“This  picture,  if  any  of  Wilkie’s  may  claim  to  do  so,”  writes  Mr.  V illiam 
Bayne,  “crowns  the  artist  as  a worthy  inheritor  of  the  art  of  I eniers,  and  of 
itself  distinguishes  him  as  the  greatest  British  master  of  his  style  of  art. 


38 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


The  canvas,  which  measures  about  three  feet  high  by  four  feet  two  inches 
wide,  is  now  in  the  National  Gallery,  London. 

‘THE  BLIND  FIDDLER'  PLATE  Vll 

PAINTED  for  Sir  George  Beaumont  in  1806,  when  Wilkie  was  twenty-one, 
this  picture  is  an  admirable  example  of  his  early  manner.  Lord  Ronald 
Gower  says:  “It  was  in  giving  effect,  and  portraying  such  a scene  as  this,  that 
he  gained  the  popularity  that,  with  all  the  changes  of  fashion  and  feeling  of 
nearly  a century,  makes  his  name  still  a household  word,  and  places  him 
amongst  the  well-remembered  of  his  countrymen.  Neither  Brouwer  nor  Jan 
Steen  ever  put  more  action  or  life  into  their  groups,  and  in  ‘The  Blind  Fid- 
dler’ we  find  that  the  details — the  ‘still-life’ — ’are  painted  with  the  skill  of 
an  Ostade  or  a Teniers.  . . . But  it  is  in  the  play  of  feature  and  in  the  vivid 
expression  of  action  that  the  genius  of  the  painter  is  revealed.  In  the  face  of 
the  blind  fiddler  there  is  a world  of  pathos  as  he  sits  playing  his  best,  with  an 
anxious,  hard-faced  woman  beside  him,  his  wife  presumably  and  the  mother 
of  the  children,  one  of  whom  she  holds  upon  her  lap.  The  contrast  between 
the  toil-worn  family  and  the  prosperous  tenants  of  the  farm  where  the  scene 
is  laid  is  admirably  shown.  . . . 

“While  painting  this  picture  Wilkie  had  before  him  near  his  easel  a picture 
by  Teniers,  probably  lent  him  by  Sir  George  Beaumont,  and  the  tone  of  color 
of  his  ‘Fiddler’  smacks  strongly  of  the  Flemish  painter.  But  although  the  ac- 
tual workmanship  may  recall  the  Dutch  and  Flemish  masters  of  his  admira- 
tion, the  expression  of  the  faces  — the  humor  and  merriment  of  some,  the 
pathos  of  others  — is  Wilkie’s  alone.’’ 

‘The  Blind  Fiddler’  was  presented  to  the  English  nation  bv  Sir  George 
Beaumont,  and  is  now  in  the  National  Gallery,  London. 

‘THE  MAID  OF  SARAGOSSA'  PLATE  VIII 

THIS  picture,  painted  while  the  artist  was  in  Aiadrid,  is  one  of  the  best 
examples  of  Wilkie’s  later  work,  in  which,  having  abandoned  his  former 
careful  and  more  minute  style,  he  adopted  a freer  method,  in  emulation  of  the 
Italian  and  Spanish  masters.  His  works  of  this  period  never  attained  the 
popularity  of  his  early  efforts,  to  which  they  are  distinctly  inferior. 

The  incident  here  depicted  occurred  during  the  siege  of  Saragossa  by  the 
French  in  1808-09.  Agustina,  the  “ Maid  of  Saragossa,”  noted  for  her  bravery 
in  the  defence  of  the  city,  is  seen  on  the  battery  in  front  of  the  Convent  of 
Santa  Engracia,  where,  her  lover  being  slam,  she  at  once  took  his  place  at  the 
gun  and  declared  she  would  avenge  his  death.  Jn  the  figure  of  the  man 
dressed  as  a volunteer  and  putting  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  Wilkie  has  por- 
trayed Jose  de  Palafox,  general  of  the  Spanish  garrison  during  the  siege.  In 
front  is  Father  Consolacion,  an  Augustinian  friar  who  served  with  ability  as 
an  engineer,  and  in  the  picture  is  seen  with  a crucifix  in  his  hand  directing  at 
what  object  the  cannon  should  be  pointed. 

‘The  Maid  of  Saragossa’  was  one  of  eight  pictures  by  Wilkie  in  the  Royal 
Academy  exhibition  of  1829,  and  was  bought  by  King  George  iv.  for  eight 

[332] 


WILKIE 


39 


hundred  guineas.  It  measures  about  three  feet  high  by  four  feet  eight  inches 
wide,  and  is  now  in  Buckingham  Palace,  London. 

‘THE  PREACHING  OF  JOHN  KNOX’  PLATEIX 

IN  ‘The  Preaching  of  John  Knox  before  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation’  — 
to  give  the  picture  its  full  title  — Wilkie  has  depicted  an  incident  which 
took  place  in  the  stormy  days  of  the  Scottish  Reformation,  when  John  Knox, 
the  great  Calvinistic  preacher,  having  just  returned  from  Geneva  to  Scotland, 
appeared  in  the  pulpit  of  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  Andrews,  Fifeshire,  on 
June  io  ,1559,  and,  in  defiance  of  a threat  of  assassination,  preached  the  doc- 
trines of  his  faith  to  a numerous  assembly  with  such  eloquence  that  it  was  har- 
moniously agreed  by  the  provost,  bailies, and  inhabitants  to  sec  up  the  reformed 
worship  in  the  town. 

Beside  the  pulpit,  on  the  preacher’s  right,  are  grouped  some  of  Knox’s 
closest  friends.  In  the  foreground,  to  the  left  of  the  picture,  are  a number  of 
supporters  of  the  reformed  faith,  among  them  the  Earl  of  Morton  leaning  on 
his  sword,  Lord  James  Murray,  afterwards  Regent  Murray,  dressed  in  red, 
seated  near,  and  the  Earls  of  Argyll  and  Glencairne.  Facing  the  pulpit,  the 
Countess  of  Argyll  and  her  lady  in  attendance  sit  listening  intently  to  the 
preacher’s  words,  and  behind  them  are  ecclesiastics  whose  opposition  to  the 
doctrines  of  Knox  is  shown  in  their  looks.  Professors  of  the  University  of  St. 
Andrews,  students,  provosts,  and  bailies  are  assembled  in  the  gallery  above. 

This  is  considered  by  many  the  greatest  of  Wilkie’s  historical  paintings. 
The  subject  is  one  that  interested  him  deeply,  and  he  bestowed  untiring  pains 
upon  its  execution,  gathering  material  and  making  numerous  sketches  for  it  in 
Scotland,  and  keeping  it  under  his  hands  for  a period  of  nearly  ten  years.  The 
picture,  which  was  exhibited  in  1832,  is  now  in  the  National  Gallery  of  British 
Art  (Tate  Gallery),  London.  It  measures  about  four  feet  high  by  five  feet  four 
inches  wide. 

‘CHELSEA  PENSIONERS  READING  THE  WATERLOO  GAZETTE’  PLATE  X 

IN  1819  Wilkie  received  from  the  Duke  of  Wellington  a commission  for  a 
picture  which  should  have  for  its  subject  reference  to  the  Napoleonic  war 
and  should  deal  with  a gathering  of  soldiers.  After  submitting  two  preliminary 
sketches  to  the  duke  for  approval,  the  plan  of ‘The  Chelsea  Pensioners’  was 
agreed  upon  and  Wilkie  began  a work  which  occupied  much  of  his  time  and 
thought  for  the  next  three  years. 

The  scene  of  his  famous  picture  is  laid  in  old  Chelsea,  where,  in  front  of  a 
public  house,  are  assembled  “soldiers  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth, 
wearing  the  hues  of  all  climates,  and  bearing  the  scars  of  many  a field  — men 
of  Wolfe  and  of  Wellington,  whom  day  of  pension  has  summoned  to  Chelsea 
to  receive  the  alms  which  their  country  awards  for  having  helped  to  save  it. 
As  the  crowd  increases  the  fun  and  jollity  grow  fast  and  furious.  Suddenly 
into  the  midst  of  the  feasting  and  merrymaking  a soldier  of  the  lancers  rides 
at  full  speed  bearing  a gazette  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo.  Instantly  the  revelry 
ceases;  eager  listeners  fill  windows  and  doors;  the  dancers’  feet  are  stilled,  and 

[333] 


40 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


in  the  silence  that  falls  a veteran  reads  aloud  the  news  of  the  English  victory 
at  Waterloo. 

In  the  Royal  Academy  exhibition  of  1822  the  picture  was  given  the  best  posi- 
tion, and  so  dense  was  the  crowd  that  pressed  about  it  that  it  became  necessary 
to  protect  it  with  a railing.  Cunningham  says:  “The  Battle  of  Waterloo  itself 
made  scarcely  a greater  stir  in  the  land  than  did  this  picture  when  it  appeared 
in  the  Academy  exhibition.  ...  A crowd  in  the  shape  of  a half-moon  stood 
before  it  from  morning  to  night.  . . . Soldiers  hurried  from  drill  to  see  it; 
the  pensioners  came  on  crutches,  and  brought  with  them  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren to  have  a look;  and  as  many  of  the  heads  were  portraits,  these  were 
eagerly  pointed  out,  and  the  fortunate  heroes  named,  sometimes  with  a shout. 
To  Wilkie,  who  was  not  conscious  of  making  any  unusual  exertion,  the  public 
rapture  was  both  startling  and  pleasing.” 

The  picture  measures  three  feet  four  inches  high  by  five  feet  two  inches  wide. 
It  is  in  the  Duke  of  Wellington’s  Collection,  Apsley  House,  London. 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  PAINTINGS  BY  WILKIE 
WITH  THEIR  PRESENT  LOCATIONS 

ENGLAND.  Alnwick  Castle,  Owned  bythe  Duke  of  Northumberland:  The 
Gentle  Shepherd  — Bedford,  Thurleigh,  Owned  by  G.  Thomson,  Esq.  : Cotter’s 
Saturday  Night;  Duncan  Gray  — Birkenhead,  Mere  Hall,  Owned  by  Gray  Hill, Esq.  : 
Wilkie’s  Birthplace — Bo  wood,  Own  ed  bythe  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  : The  Sick  Lady; 
The  Jew’s  Harp;  The  Wardrobe  Ransacked;  The  Confessor  Confessing;  Lady  Lansdowne 
with  her  Page;  The  Confessional  — Chillingham,  Owned  by  the  Earl  of  Tanker- 
ville  : Portrait  of  the  Earl  of  Tankerville  — Hampstead,  Caen  Wood,  Owned  by  the 
Earl  of  Mansfield:  The  Village  Politicians  — Hatfield,  Owned  by  the  Marquis  of 
Salisbury:  Portrait  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington- — -Heswall,  The  Roscote,  Owned  by 
Thomas  Brocklebank,  Eso.  : The  Letter  of  Introduction  (Plate  1)  — Liverpool,  Owned 
by  Edward  Chapman,  Esq.:  The  Rent  Day — Liverpool,  Mossley  Hill,  Owned  by 
Mrs.  George  Holt:  The  Jew’s  Harp  — London,  National  Gallery:  The  Blind 
Fiddler  (Plate  vii);  The  Village  Festival  (Plate  vi);  The  Bagpiper  — London,  National 
Gallery  of  British  Art:  Portrait  of  Thomas  Daniell;  The  Parish  Beadle;  The  First 
Ear-ring;  Landscape;  Newsmongers;  Preaching  of  John  Knox  (Plate  ix);  Sketch  of  ‘ Blind- 
man’s  Buff’  — London,  National  Portrait  Gallery:  Portrait  of  Wilkie;  Sketch  for 
Portrait  of  Queen  Victoria  — London,  Royal  Academy:  The  Rat  Hunters  — London, 
South  Kensington  Museum:  The  Broken  Jar;  The  Refusal  (Plate  v);  Daughters  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott;  Landscape;  A number  of  studies  and  sketches  — London,  Wallace 
Collection  : Scotch  Lassies  dressing;  The  Sportsman  — London,  Apsley  House,  Owned 
by  the  Duke  of  Wellington:  Chelsea  Pensioners  reading  the  Gazette  of  the  Battle  of 
Waterloo  (Plate  x);  Portrait  of  Lady  Lyndhurst;  Two  Portraits  of  George  iv.  — London, 
Buckingham  Palace:  The  Penny  Wedding  (Plate  11);  Blindman’s  Buff  (Plate  111);  The 
Maid  of  Saragossa  (Plate  viii);  Guerilla  Council  of  War;  Guerilla  taking  Leave  of  his  Con- 
fessor; Guerilla’s  Return;  Two  Portraits  of  William  iv. ; Portrait  of  Queen  Adelaide;  Re- 
ception of  George  iv.  at  Holyrood;  Two  Portraits  of  George  iv. ; Pifferari  playing  Hymns; 
Roman  Princess  washing  Pilgrims’  Feet;  Portrait  of  Queen  Victoria;  The  Duke  of  Sussex; 
The  Sultan  Abdul  Medjid  —London,  St.  Bartholomew’s  Hospital:  Portrait  of  M at- 
thias  Prince  Lucas,  Esq. — London,  Dorchester  House,  Owned  by  Captain  R.  S. 
Holford:  Columbus  in  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida- — Tondon,  Owned  by  Sir  Donald 
Currie:  Sketch  for  ‘The  Rabbit  on  the  Wall’  — London,  Owned  by  Mrs.  Grant: 
Portrait  of  Sir  P.  Laurie  — London,  Merchant  Taylors’  Hall:  Portrait  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  — London,  Montagu  House,  Owned  by  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch  : Por- 

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WILKIE 


41 


trait  ofLord  Montagu;  Portrait  of  Wilkie — London,  Owned  by  Viscount  Ridley:  ‘ Not 
at  Home’  — Middleham,  East  Witton  Vicarage,  Owned  by  Rev.  David  Wilkie: 
Wilkie’s  Father  and  Mother;  Portrait  of  Wilkie;  Portrait  ofMr.  Wilkie;  The  Duke  ofWel- 
lington  and  his  Horse;  Queen  Victoria  on  Horseback;  Scenefrom  ‘ The  Gentle  Shepherd  ’ — 
Nottingham,  Corporation  Art  Museum  : Sketch  for  ‘The  Soldier’s  Grave’ — Oxford 
University:  Portrait  of  William  iv.  and  Queen  Adelaide  — Pontefract,  The  Mount, 
Owned  by  E.  Shepherd,  Esq.:  Alfred  in  the  Neatherd’s  Cottage  (small  version)  — Ring- 
wood,  Somerley,  Owned  by  the  Earl  of  Normanton;  Sketchfor  ‘Reading  the  Will’  — 
Rothbury,  Craigside,  Owned  by  the  late  Lord  Armstrong  : The  Rabbit  on  the  Wall 
(Plate  iv)  — Trentham,  Owned  by  the  Duke  of  Sutherland:  The  Breakfast  — Tun- 
bridge Wells,  Owned  by  S.  Hatchard,  Esq^:  Replica  of  ‘The  Village  Politicians’ — 
Winchester,  Stratton,  Owned  bythe  Earl  of  Northbrook:  The  Bounty  Money  or 
The  Village  Recruit;  The  Letter  Writer;  An  Arab;  Sketch  for  ‘The  Chelsea  Pensioners;’ 
Death  of  the  Red  Deer;  The  Sick  Lady;  Two  sketches  — Windsor,  Owned  by  the  Mar- 
quis of  Normanby:  Portrait  of  Queen  Victoria — Woking,  The  Firs,  Owned  by  Mrs. 
Wilkie:  Sketch  for  Mother  and  Child  in  ‘The  First  Ear-ring’;  Colonel  Wilkie  and  his 
Sister  as  Children;  Head  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  — Wokingham,  Bearwood,  Owned 
by  J.  Walter,  Esq.:  The  Card-players — GERMANY.  Munich,  New  Pinakothek: 
Reading  the  Will  — IRELAND.  Dublin,  National  Gallery  of  Ireland:  Pope 
Pius  vii.  and  Napoleon  at  Fontainebleau;  The  Peep  o’Day  Boy’s  Cabin — Kilkenny 
Castle,  Owned  by  the  Marquis  of  Ormonde:  Portraits  of  William  iv.  and  Queen 
Adelaide  — SCOTLAND.  Cambeltown,  Owned  by  William  Brodon,  Esq.:  The 
Smugglers;  The  Fisher  Boys  — Cupar,  Town  Hall:  Portrait  of  the  Earl  of  Kellie  — 
Dundee,  Owned  by  the  Earl  of  Camperdown  : The  China  Menders  — Dundee,  Cor- 
poration Picture  Gallery : Sketch  for  ‘ The  Village  Politicians’ ; Sketch  for  ‘ Guess  my 
Name’;  Sketch  for  ‘The  Rabbit  on  the  Wall’;  Sketch  for  ‘Nelson  sealing  Despatches’  — 
Edinburgh,  National  Gallery  of  Scotland:  The  Abbotsford  Family;  The  Gentle 
Shepherd;  Portrait  of  Mrs.  Hunter;  John  Knox  dispensing  the  Sacrament  at  Calder  House 
(unfinished);  Sketch  for  ‘Blindman’s  Buff’ — Edinburgh,  Scottish  National  Portrait 
Gallery:  Portrait  of  Wilkie  (see  page  316);  Portrait  of  Wilkie;  Wilkie  and  his  Mother 
— Edinburgh,  Owned  by  Mrs.  C.  Kinnear:  Pitlessie  Fair — Edinburgh,  Owned  by 
Arthur  Sanderson,  Esq  : The  Bride’s  Toilet — Fife,  Kinloch  House,  Owned  by 
Boyd  Kinnear,  Esq.:  Peasants  (bis)  — Fife,  Melville  House,  Owned  by  Miss  Leslie 
Melville:  Princess  Victoria  with  the  Duchess  of  Kent  — Fife,  Naughton  House,  Owned 
by  Mrs.  Anstruther  Duncan:  Portrait  of  James  Morrison  of  Naughton- — Glasgow, 
Corporation  Galleries  of  Art:  Turkish  Mother  and  Child;  Portrait  of  Queen  Vic- 
toria; Portrait  of  a Lady  — Melrose,  Owned  by  Mrs.  Riddell:  Portraits  of  Mrs.  Rid- 
dell’s Grandparents;  Sketches  for  ‘The  Letter  of  Introduction’  and  ‘The  Breakfast’  — 
Prestonkirk,  Newbyth,  Owned  by  Sir  D.  Baird:  Sir  David  Baird  discovering  the  Body 
of  Tippoo  Sahib  — TURKEY.  Constantinople,  Sultan’s  Palace:  Portrait  of  Queen 
Victoria — UNITED  STATES.  Chicago,  Owned  by  R.  Hall  McCormick,  Esq.: 
Market  Day  at  St.  Andrews — New  York,  Lenox  Library:  Landscape  with  Water  and 
Ducks;  Highland  Still;  Landscape  with  Group  of  Ladies;  Landscape  with  Gipsies;  Land- 
scape with  Goats;  The  Crown  of  Scotland;  Sketch  of  part  of  ‘ Blindman’s  Buff’ — WALES. 
Welshpool,  Leighton  Hall,  Owned  by  John  Naylor,  Eso.:  The  Whisky  Still; 
Grace  before  Meat;  The  Pope  and  Benvenuto  Cellini;  Sancho  Panza;  Reading  the  Will; 
Bathsheba;  Sketch  of  ‘ Knox  dispensing  the  Sacrament.’ 


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42 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


3^tlftte  Btbltograpijp 


A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  BOOKS  AND  MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 
DEALING  WITH  WILKIE 


ARMSTRONG,  Sir  W.  Wilkie  (in  Bryan's  Dictionary  of  Painters  and  Engravers). 

.London,  1903-5  — Bayne,  W.  Sir  David  Wilkie.  London,  1903 — Burnet,  J. 
Practical  Essays  _on  the  Fine  Arts.  London,  1848 — Caw,  J.  L.  Scottish  Portraits.  Edin- 
burgh, 1903 — Chasles,  P.  David  Wilkie  (in  Blanc’s  Histoire  des  peintres).  Paris,  1867 
— Chesneau,  E.  The  English  School  of  Painting:  Trans,  by  L.  N.  Etherington.  London, 
1885 — Collins,  W.  W.  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  William  Collins,  Esq.,  R.  A.  London, 
1848  — Cunningham,  A.  Life  of  Sir  David  Wilkie.  London,  1843  — Dobson,  A. 
Wilkie  (in  Dictionary  of  National  Biography).  London,  1 885-1901 — Gower,  Lord  R.  S. 
Sir  David  Wilkie.  London,  1902  — Gray,  J.  M.  Wilkie  (in  Encyclopaedia  Britannica). 
Edinburgh,  1883  — Hamerton,  P.  G.  Etching  and  Etchers.  London,  1868  — Haz- 
litt,  W.  Lectures  on  the  English  Comic  Writers.  London,  1819  — Heaton,  Mrs.  C. 
Great  Works  of  Sir  David  Wilkie.  London,  1868  — Henley,  W.  E.  A Century  of  Ar- 
tists. Glasgow,  1889  — Hodgson,  J.  E.,  and  Eaton,  F.  A.  The  Royal  Academy  and 
its  Members.  London,  1905 — Jerdan,  W.  Men  I Have  Known.  London,  1866  — 
Laing,  D.  Etchings  by  Sir  David  Wilkie,  etc.  Edinburgh,  1875 — Leslie,  C.  R. 
Handbook  for  Young  Painters.  London,  1855  — MacColl,  D.  S.  Nineteenth  Century 
Art.  Glasgow,  1902  — Mollett,  J.W.  Sir  David  Wilkie.  London,  1881 — Muther,  R. 
The  History  of  Modern  Painting.  London,  1896  — Paston,  G.  B.  R.  Haydon  and  his 
Friends.  NewYork,  1905  — Pinnington,  E.  Sir  David  Wilkie.  London, 1881  — Raim- 
bach,  M.  T.  S.  (editor).  Memoir  of  Sir  David  Wilkie  (in  Memoirs  and  Recollections). 
Privately  printed,  1843  — Redgrave,  R.  and  S.  A Century  of  Painters  of  the  English 
School.  London,  1866  — Silvestre,  T.  L’ Art,  les  artistes,  et  l'industrie  en  Angleterre. 
London,  1859  — Simpson,  A.  L.  The  Story  of  Sir  David  Wilkie.  London,  1879  — Tay- 
lor, T.  (editor  and  compiler).  Life  of  Benjamin  Robert  Haydon.  London,  1853 — Tem- 
ple, A.  G.  Art  of  Painting  in  the  Queen’s  Reign.  London,  1897  — Tirebuck,  W. 
Great  Minds  in  Art.  London,  18S8  — Van  Dyke,  J.  C.  Old  English  Masters.  Engraved 
by  T.  Cole.  NewYork,  1902  — Waagen,  G.  F.  Works  of  Art  and  Artists  in  England. 
London,  1838 — Wedmore,  F.  Masters  of  Genre-painting.  London,  1880  — Sir  David 
Wilkie’s  Sketches  in  Turkey,  Syria,  and  Egypt  drawn  on  stone  by  Joseph  Nash.  Lon- 
don, 1843 — The  Wilkie  Gallery.  London  [18 — ]. 


IGOSY,  1894:  A.  Quarry;  Sir  David  Wilkie,  R.  A. — L'Artiste,  1883:  Feuillet 


de  Conches;  Sir  David  Wilkie  — Art  Journal,  1896:  G.  D.  Leslie  and  F.  A. 
Eaton;  The  Royal  Academy  in  the  Present  Century  — Athen^um,  1841:  Anonymous; 
Sir  David  Wilkie  — Blackwood’s  Edinburgh  Magazine,  1842:  Anonymous;  Exhibi- 
tions of  Wilkie’s  Pictures.  1895:  Anonymous;  The  Scottish  School  of  Painting  — Eng- 
lish Illustrated  Magazine,  1883:  Sir  W.  Armstrong;  Some  Forgotten  Etchers  — 
Fraser’s  Magazine,  1842:  Anonymous;  Wilkie  and  his  Works  — Gazette  des  Beaux- 
Arts,  1868:  J.  Desrosiers;  David  Wilkie.  1869:  J.  Desrosiers;  David  Wilkie (Quelques 
extraits  de  sa  correspondance) — Leisure  Hour,  1881:  Anonymous;  David  Wilkie,  R.  A. 
— McClure's  Magazine,  1896:  W.  H.  Low;  A Century  of  Painters — Museum  of 
Foreign  Literature,  1841:  Anonymous;  Sir  David  Wilkie  — New  Monthly  Mag- 
azine, 1843:  Anonymous;  Review  of  Cunningham’s  Life  of  Wilkie  — Penny  Magazine, 
1841:  Anonymous;  S*ir  David  Wilkie  — Portfolio,  1887:  W.  Armstrong;  Scottish 
Painters  — Quarterly  Review,  1843:  J.  G.  Lockhart;  Review  of  Cunningham’s  Life 
of  Wilkie  — Sharpe’s  London  Journal,  1848:  W.  T.;  The  Wilkie  Gallery. 


MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 


[336] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


SLIGHTLY  DAMAGED  COPIES  OF 

^Wasters  in  &rt 

AT  HALF  PRICE 


THESE  COPIES  were  exposed  to  smoke  from  a fire  occurring  in  our 
building.  They  were  packed  in  bins,  evenly  piled,  and  the  damage 
is  principally  discoloration  of  the  overhanging  edges  of  the  covers.  The 
insides  are  in  perfect  condition.  We  have  made  the  stock  up  into  yearly 
volumes  and  sets  as  follows  : 

SPECIAL  PRICES:  Yearly  volumes  delivered,  $i  20.  Regular  price,  $2.40.  We  have  in  stock  yearly  vol- 
umes for  1 902,  1903,  1904,  and  1 905,  and  also  sets  often  as  listed  below  (order  by  letter),  $1.00.  Regular  price,  $2. co 


SET  A 
Phidias 
T intoretto 
Greuze 
Lotto 
Landseer 
Vermeer  of  Delft 
Pintoricchio 
Copley 

Vigee  Le  Brun 
Palma  Vecchio 

SET  D 
Van  Dyck 
Velasquez 
Correggio 
Romney 
F ra  Angelico 
Gerard  Dou 
Carpaccio 
Guido  Reni 
Verrocchio 
Fra  Bartolommeo 


SET  B 
Mantegna 
Chardin 

Benozzo  Gozzoli 
Jan  Steen 
Memlinc 

Durer  (Engrav.) 
Pieter  de  Hooch 
Luini 

Claude  Lorrain 
Barye 


SET  C 
Della  Robbia 
Del  Sarto 
Ter  Borch 
Praxiteles 
Nattier 
Giorgione 
De  Chavannes 
Donatello 
Veronese 
Giotto 


SET  E 

Titian 

Durer  (Paint.) 

Michelangelo  (Paint.) 

Gainsborough 

Perugino 

Rossetti 

The  Van  Eycks 

Raeburn 

Fra  Filippo  Lippi 
Rosa  Bonheur 


We  also  have  extra  single  numbers  of  Meissonier,  Raphael’s  Frescos, 
Watteau,  Elogarth,  Da  Vinci,  Giov.  Bellini,  Per  Borch,  Della  Robbia,  Del 
Sarto,  Tintoretto,  Giotto,  Praxiteles,  Luini,  Nattier,  Pieter  de  Hooch, 
Donatello,  Giorgione,  Greuze,  Lotto,  Landseer,  Pintoricchio,  Copley,  Ver- 
meer of  Delft,  Watts,  Palma  Vecchio,  Madame  Vigee  Le  Brun,  Mantegna, 
Chardin,  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  Jan  Steen,  and  Memlinc,  which  we  will  send  post- 
paid at  10  cents  each. 

ONLY  A LIMITED  NUMBER  OF  VOLUMES  AND  SETS  TO  BE  HAD 


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MASTERS  IN  ART 

BACK  NUMBERS  AND  BOUND  VOLUMES 


It  /TASTERS  IN  ART  was  established  in  January,  1900.  As  will  be 
A rvZ  seen  from  the  following  list  ot  painters  and  sculptors  covered  by  the 
first  six  years,  the  bound  volumes  form  a fairly  complete  reference  library  of 
Art.  The  subjects,  in  the  order  of  publication,  are  as  follows: 


Volume  I (1900)  treats  of  Van  Dyck,  Titian,  Velasquez,  Holbein, 
Botticelli,  Rembrandt,  Reynolds,  Millet,  Giov.  Bellini,  Murillo,  Hals,  and 
Raphael. 

Volume  II  (igoi)  treats  of  Rubens,  Da  Vinci,  Diirer,  Michelangelo 
(Sculpture),  Michelangelo  (Painting),  Corot,  Burne-Jones,  Ter  Borch, 
Della  Robbia,  Del  Sarto,  Gainsborough,  and  Correggio. 

Volume  III  (1902)  treats  of  Phidias,  Perugino,  Holbein,  Tintoretto, 
Pieter  De  Hooch,  Nattier,  Paul  Potter,  Giotto,  Praxiteles,  Hogarth,  Tur- 
ner, and  Luini. 


The  Cloth  Binding  is  a brown  art  buckram,  with  heavy  bevelled  boards,  side  and 
back  stamps  in  frosted  and  burnished  gold,  from  designs  by  Mr.  B.  G.  Goodhue,  and 
gilt  top. 

The  Half-Morocco  Binding  is  in  green,  with  green  and  gold  marbled  paper  sides 
and  end  papers,  gold  tooled  back  designed  by  Mr.  B.  G.  Goodhue,  and  gilt  top. 

In  both  styles  of  binding  the  forwarding  is  most  thoroughly  done,  the  front  and 
bottom  edges  are  untrimmed. 


PRICES 

All  single  numbers,  except  those  of  the  current  calendar  year,  are  ^o 
cents  each,  postpaid,  in  the  United  States,  Canada,  and  Mexico  ■,  25  Half- 

cents  each,  postpaid,  to  foreign  countries  in  the  postal  union.  Single  Morocco 

numbers  of  the  current  year  are  1 5 cents.  No  reduction  when  yearly  vol-  Binding 

umes  or  complete  sets  are  ordered. 

Bound  volumes  are  S3. 75  each  for  cloth,  $4.2.5  each  for  half-morocco,  express  prepaid.  Terms 
for  purchasing  the  complete  set  on  small  monthly  payments  will  be  sent  on  request. 


Cloth  Binding 


Volume  IV  (1903)  treats  of  Romney,  Fra  Angelico,  Watteau,  Ra- 
phael’s Frescos,  Donatello,  Gerard  Dou,  Carpaccio,  Rosa  Bonheur,  Guido 
Reni,  Puvis  De  Chavannes,  Giorgione,  and  Rossetti. 

Volume  V (1904)  treats  of  Fra 
Bartolommeo,  Greuze,  Diarer’s  En- 
gravings, Lotto,  Landseer,  Vermeer  of 
Delft,  Pintoricchio,  The  Brothers  Van 
Eyck,  Meissonier,  Barye,  Veronese, 
and  Copley. 

VolumeVI(i  905)  treats  of  W atts, 

Palma  Vecchio,  Madame  Vigee  Le 
Brun,  Mantegna,  Chardin,  Benozzo 
Gozzoli,  Jan  Steen,  Memling,  Claude 
Lorrain,  Verrocchio,  Raeburn,  Fra 
Filippo  Lippi. 


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Ha;  Constantly  on  Hand  and  for  Sale 

Original  Work  of 
Mr.  ALBERT  H.  CHAFFEE 

INCLUDING 

Views  in  Color  of  Spain,  Sicily,  Italy,  Switzerland 
Famous  Masterpieces  Studied  in  the  Galleries 
Raphael's  Hours  and  Frescoes  in  the  Vatican 
The  Raphael  Prints  in  Sepia,  Many  Sizes.  Small 
framed  pictures,  very  artistic 

Also  hand-painted  Dinner  and  Score-Cards,  and  any 
hand-decorated  wo  k to  order. 

Selections  of  any  of  the  above  sent  on  approval 

Interpretation  of  Raphael’s  Hours, 
by  Mrs.  Adeliza  Brainerd  Chaffee 

Edition  de  Luxe,  hand-illumined,  $10.00  per  Copy. 
Library  Edition,  Board  Covers,  $1.50;  Paper  Covers, 
50  cents. 

M rs.  Chaffee’s  Series  of  Six  Topic  Books,  for  the 
Study  of  Art,  in  use  by  Clubs,  Schools,  and  Individual 
Study.  30  Cents  Each.  Correspondence  Invited. 


The  GREAT  PICTURE  LIGHT 

FRINK’S  PORTABLE 

PICTURE  REFLECTORS 


For  electric  light,  meet  all  requirements 
for  lighting  pictures.  Every  owner  of 
fine  paintings  could  use  one  or  more  of 
these  portable  reflectors  to  advantage. 
The  fact  that  so  many  have  ordered 
these  outfits  for  their  friends  is  proof 
that  their  merits  are  appreciated. 
Height,  closed,  51  inches;  extended,  81 
inches.  T he  ligh  t from  the  re  Hector  can 
be  directed  at  any  picture  in  the  room 
and  at  any  angle. 


Frink’sPortablePictureReflector 
with  Telescope  Standard 

No.  7034,  brass,  polished  or  antique, 
with  plug  and  socket  for  electric 
lamp  ....  ...  $27.50 

No.  7035,  black  iron,  with  plug  and 
socket  for  electric  lamp  . . $16.50 


Nos.  7034,  7035 
Pat.  Dec.  14.  ’g7 


These  special  Reflectors  are  used  by 
all  the  picture-dealers  in  New  York, and 
by  private  collectors  not  only  in  this 
country,  but  in  Paris,  London,  Berlin, 
and  other  cities.  When  ordering,  kindly 
mention  the  system  of  electricity  used. 
Satisfaction  guaranteed.  Parties  order- 
ing these  Reflectors  need  not  hesitate 
to  return  them  at  our  expense  if  not 
found  satisfactory. 


I.  P.  FRINK,  551  Pearl  St.,  New  York  City 

GEO.  FRINK  SPENCER,  Manager 
Telephone,  860  Frank  in 


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/^NE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  direct 
reproductions  from  the  original  paintings 
and  drawings  by  old  and  modern  masters  in  the 
galleries  of  Amsterdam,  Antwerp,  Berlin,  Dres- 
den, Florence,  Haarlem,  Hague,  London,  Ma- 
drid, Milan,  Paris,  St  Petersburg,  Rome, 
Venice,  Vienna,  Windsor,  and  others. 

Special  Terms  to  Schools. 


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256  Fifth  Ave.,  bet.  28th  and  29th  Sts. 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


THE  UNIVERSITY  PRINTS 

Are  the  only  leproductions 
published  in  inexpensive 
form  for  the  systematic  study 
of  Greek  and  Italian  Art. 
One  cent  each,  or  eighty 
cents  per  hundred.  Catalog 
on  request. 

Publishing  Department 
BUREAU  OF 
UNIVERSITY  TRAVEL 
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Boston,  Mass. 


NEW  SUBSCRIBERS 

TO 

Rasters  tn  3rt 

Who  would  like  the  bound  volumes 
complete  from  the  beginning  are 
requested  to  write  for  our  offer  to 
supply  them  on  terms  of  small 
monthly  payments. 

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In  lots  of  25  or  more;  120  for  $1.00.  There  are 
more  than  2,000  pictures  from  which  to  select. 
Each  picture  on  paper,  5 1-2x8. 

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I 25  Art  Subjects,  or 
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I paper,  1 o x 12. 


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COURSES  FOR  PIANISTS  AND  MUSIC  TEACHERS 
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